There were reports Wednesday’s politburo meeting would see a group of officials, led by Didymus Mutasa, the party’s secretary for administration, calling for the ouster of the ZANU PF officials exposed in the leaked diplomatic cables, as punishment.
The WikiLeaks revelations were reportedly put on the agenda of the meeting. But party sources told SW Radio Africa correspondent, Simon Muchemwa that the issue was considered too explosive to be discussed while emotions were still “too high.”
Other observers say that this is a sign of a party in ‘paralyses’, who have been left numbed by shock and confusion following the damning cable reports.
“It was felt the WikiLeaks topic and the call by some senior members of the party to punish those implicated could easily tear the party (apart), which is just hanging by a thread since the death of General Solomon Mujuru in a suspicious farm house fire,” Muchemwa said.
SW Radio Africa is reliably informed that not many members of the Politburo and other influential party cadres were keen to see those mentioned in the cables punished.
The Wikileaks reports, released by the whistle-blowing website, exposed top ZANU PF officials in sharing sensitive information about their party and apparent plots to dislodge Robert Mugabe from power, during meetings with American diplomats in Harare.
“I think for now the issue has just been shelved to give the party ample time to see how they deal with the explosive subject. Others are saying it is wrong for people like Mutasa to consume the reports wholly without interrogating them,” Muchemwa said.
He added: “Some are arguing that so far there has been no attempt to interrogate the reports to check if what was reported is true or not.”
Many people captured in the reports, including Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono and Saviour Kasukuwere the Indigenisation and Youth Minister, have all come out to deny what has been attributed to them in the leaked cables.
Others like the ZANU PF propaganda chief, Jonathan Moyo have however confirmed the reports, admitting they did speak to the American diplomats.
The timing of the release of the cables, however, could not have come at a worse time for ZANU PF or those mentioned in the communications. The revelations have damaged the image of the party, rattled the rank and file members, raised public doubt over its ability to win any elections, and placed at least the positions of some of those implicated on the line. – SW Radio Africa News
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